1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication apparatus for performing facsimile communication through a network such as the Internet.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various methods of facsimile communication through the Internet have been conventionally proposed. For example, to place a call, communication through the Internet is tried a predetermined number of times, and if communication is not possible, normal communication through the PSTN is performed. Alternatively, communication through the Internet or communication through the PSTN is selected depending on the amount of information to be transmitted or the transmission mode (direct transmission or memory transmission).
Also, a method of divisionally transmitting one text by communication through the Internet and communication through the PSTN, and combining the respective data into one text on the receiving side, and a method of selecting communication through the Internet or communication through the PSTN on the basis of the communication mode have been proposed.
As a scheme of connecting a network service provider as a provider of the commercial Internet service and a user terminal, dial-up connection that establishes IP (Internet Protocol) connection through a public switching network such as a telephone network or the ISDN is available.
In facsimile communication using this dial-up connection via a service provider, reception information can be immediately transmitted to a service provider near the receiver.
However, when the receiver wants to receive the facsimile information from the service provider on the receiving side, the receiver itself must establish dial-up connection to the service provider and perform POP (Post Office Protocol) processing. For this reason, in facsimile communication through the Internet, the instantaneity of facsimile communication cannot be ensured.
If the receiver connects itself to the service provider on the receiving side by dial-up connection at a short time interval to ensure the instantaneity, the reception information can be immediately received, though this results in an increase in communication cost.
When a conventional facsimile apparatus executes facsimile communication from a station A to an Internet service provider (to be referred to as an ISP hereinafter) near a station B by dial-up connection, the user at the station B cannot detect arrival of the reception information of the facsimile communication at the ISP.
For this reason, even when facsimile communication from the station A to the station B is executed through the Internet on urgent business, the user at the station B is unaware of arrival of the reception information of the facsimile communication at the ISP, so the real-time properties of facsimile communication cannot be exploited.